Mario E. Martinez

Associate Professor

Education:Eastman School of Music, DMAEastman School of Music, MMLuther College, BM

Biography:Baritone Mario E. Martínez made his United States professional operatic debut in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra production of Beethoven’s Fidelio, performing the role of Don Pizarro. During his professional career, Martínez has appeared with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras of Santo Domingo, Orchard Park Chorale and Symphony, New Eastman Symphony, Eastman Philharmonia, Eastman Opera Theater, Mercury Opera of Rochester, Empire Sate Lyric Theatre, Opera Rochester, Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Opera de las Américas and Compañia Lírica Dominicana.

Recent performances include leading roles in Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila, in Rossini’s La Cambiale di matrimonio, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, the critically acclaimed Mercury Opera productions of L’Elisir d’Amore and L’amico Fritz, as well as concert presentations at the Canterbury Cathedral in the United Kingdom, the National Theater in the Dominican Republic, and the Merkin Concert Hall in New York. Martínez’s operatic repertoire includes Emperor Überall in Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis, Falstaff in Verdi’s Falstaff, Almaviva in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Raymondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, El Padre in Milhaud’s Le Pauvre Matelot, Bohechio in Braga’s Opera 1492, and Marullo in Verdi’s Rigoletto.

Martínez, a skilled singing-actor, feels at home in dramatic and comic roles, as well as oratorio, musical theater and Spanish Opera and Zarzuela repertoire. Oratorio appearances include Verdi’s Requiem under Murray Sidlin, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis under Robert Shaw and the Ninth Symphony under Grant Cooper. Other performances include Carmina Burana, Elijah, The Creation, Mozart, Brahms and Fauré’s Requiem, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Rutter’s Mass of the Children, and R.V. William’s Dona Nobis Pacem among many others.

Martínez serves as Coordinator of Vocal Studies at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York, where he teaches applied voice, vocal pedagogy, song literature, opera and performance technique courses. Martínez taught at the State University of New York (SUNY), College at Fredonia, and at the Eastman School of Music Community Education Division.

Martínez is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), and was selected to participate in the exclusive NATS Intern Program in 2003. Martínez served as On-Site Coordinator for the 2005 NATS Intern Program and as President of the Central New York-Finger Lakes NATS Chapter (CNYFL-NATS). This spring 2014, Martínez was appointed as New York District Governor-NATS.

In August 2005, Martínez was invited as guest conductor for the National Choir’s 50th Anniversary celebrations in his native country, the Dominican Republic, where he has since returned as arts consultant, guest conductor, stage director and master teacher for the Secretary of Culture and the General Office of Fine Arts. Martínez currently serves as Music Director at the Penfield Presbyterian Church, in Penfield, New York.

Martínez holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts from Luther College.